Water chaise



p 13, 1955 N. J. BOURDON 2,717,400

WATER CHAISE Filed June 7, 1954 United States Patent WATER CHAISENapol'eon'J. Bourdon, N ortlr Hollywood, Calif. Application June 7,1954, SerialNo. 434,714

Claims. (Cl. 9-41) This invention relates generally to floats,pontoons,-rafts and similar aquatic support upon which bathers may floatand propel themselves along the surface of the water. Specifically, theinvention pertains to a buoyant balsa wood pontoons have also been usedfor thepurpose. While such supporting devices are in wide use, they havethe disadvantage of being easily punctured so that they are unreliablefrom the safety standpoint.

It is usual in such prior raft-like structures to provide a seatsupported by and extending between the inflated pontoons. Since theseats are attached to the highly flexible pontoons, they are veryunstable in use so that the bather or rider has the feeling ofinsecurity. In addition, it has been the practice to arrange the seatsata level which is either above the pontoons, substantially in horizontalalignment therewith or slightly below the pontoons. Consequently,thebather sits at a level adjacent the surface of the water, that is, atthe approximate center of gravity of the pontoons and this results inlack of stability so that the support is easily upset due to motion ofthe water or shifting of the bathers weight.

It is an object of my invention toobviate the-faults and deficiencies ofprevious floating chairs and similar aquatic supports by providing awater chair or chaise which is a one-piece, rigid, structure capable ofwithstanding rough handling and abnormal stresses and strains.

Another object of the invention is to provide a water chaise whichconsists of a pair of spaced, parallel pontoons, connected at one end bya cross member, and having a U-shaped chair portion having legsdepending from the pontoons and connected by a transverse rest or seatupon which a person may sit.

Another object of the invention is to provide a water chaise, of thecharacter referred to, in which the pontoons, cross member, legs andseat are hollow throughout, being made preferably as sheet metal tubesand assembled by soldering or welding to provide an integral structurewhich is buoyant throughout, the sheet metal being particularly strongand durable and being practically proof against leakage due topuncturing.

Another important object is to provide a water chaise in which the seatportion is located at a considerable distance below the pontoons so asto attain a relatively low center of gravity and thus afiord maximumstability.

Another object of the invention is to provide a water chaise which is soproportioned that the arms of a bather may extend over the pontoons soas to enable the person 2,717,400 Patented Sept. 13, 1955 ice to use hisor her arms and hands as oars or paddles to propel the chaise along thewater.

Another object is to provide a water chaise which is portable and of asize to adapt it for convenient storage in a relatively small space andtransportation in an automobile. p q

A further object is to provide a water chaise of the" type indicatedwhich, in addition to being strong and durable, is light in weight andeconomical to'manufacture.

A still further object is to provide a water chaisei in which thepontoons may have partitions or bulkheads providing a plurality ofcompartments. By this feature, in the event that a portion of eitherpontoon is damaged to the extent that water may enter the same, theremaining undamaged compartments will afford sufli'cientbuoyancy tomaintain the chaise floating.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the followingdescription and from the accompanying'drawing, which is for the purposeof illustration only, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my water chaise;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view, taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1';

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view, taken on line 3'3 of Fig; 1; and vFigs. 4 and 5 are utility views, illustrating the manner of applying thewater chaise to use.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the water chais'e' comprisesessentially a pair of elongate, spaced, parallel pontoons 10" and 11which are joined adjacent one end by a cross-member 12. Each pontoon 10and 11 is constructedfrom a sheet of thin metal stock, the longitudinaledges of the stock being joined in a seam 13 which may be simply alap-joint or a reverse'or Stovepipe joint, as desired. In either case,the joint is made tight preferably by soldering the same. End caps 15"are fitted eitherwithin or over the ends of the tubular sheet metalpontoons 10and 11 and p'ref'erablyare' soldered in place;

The cross-member 12' is also made from sheet meta-l stock in asimilarmanner and its ends are soldered, welded or otherwise secured to thefacing sides of the pontoons 1'0 and 11 to extend therebetween.

The water chaise further includes a'platform or rest 20 arranged at theend of the chaise opposite the crossmember 12. The rest 20 includes apair of tubular side elements 21 which have their upper ends joined tolower portions of the pontoons 10 and 11, as by soldering or welding.The elements 21 extend downwardly in slightly convergent relation andextending transversely between their lower ends is a tubular seat 22.

The parts 21 and 22 of the rest 20 are constructed from a sheet of thinmetal stock, the edges of which are joined in a soldered seam 23 (Fig.3). While these tubular parts may be of any desired cross-sectionalshape, I prefer to make them of polygonal cross section so as to providea flat upper surface 24 on the seat portion 22 for comfort.

It is thus seen from the foregoing that the water chaise is sofabricated that it is, in effect, a one-piece, strong and rigidstructure. It is also to be noted that the chaise is completely hollowso that it possesses full buoyancy throughout. Due to its relativelysmall size and weight, the chaise may be conveniently transported in anautomobile and easily handled.

To apply the chaise to use, it is placed upon the water with its seatportion submerged as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The bather then may assumethe position shown in Fig. 4 in which he sits upon the seat 22 with hislegs dangling from the seat and with his back resting against thecrossmember 12 which serves as a back rest. With the bather thus seatedin a somewhat reclining position, he may float for as long a period asdesired. The chaise is so proportioned that the bather may extend hisarms over the pontoons 1t and 11 as indicated in Fig. 4. By moving hisarms, hands and feet, the bather may propel himself along the water.

It is to be noted that the rest 20 is disposed entirely below thepontoons 10 and 11 so that it provides, in effect, a keel forstabilizing the chaise to prevent upsetting thereof. The chaise isfurther stabilized by the low center of gravity which is located at aconsiderable distance below the surface of the water when the bather issupported thereby. The aquatic supporting device thus is exceptionallysafe in use. The pontoons and other hollow, buoyant parts, beingconstructed from sheet metal, instead of from rubber, plastic or otherinflatable material, will withstand rough handling and abnormal stresseswithout damage which might cause leakage. To further guard against theescape of air and filling of the pontoons with water in the event ofdamage causing the appearance of a hole or crack, I may providepartitions 25 within the pontoons as shown in Fig. 4. Such partitionsmay serve as bulkheads in dividing the pontoons into a number ofair-tight compartments. By this feature, should a pontoon be damaged andleak at one portion, the air within the remaining compartments will besufiicient to maintain the chaise afloat.

The aquatic chair may also be used as shown in Fig. to support a batherin a somewhat prone position to enable him to swim in the water. In thiscase, the bather kneels upon the seat 22 with his chest resting upon thecross-member 12 and with his arms outstretched over the.

pontoons and 11 to propel himself and the support through the water.

While I have herein shown and described the water chaise as embodied ina preferred form of construction, it will be understood that variousmodifications might be made in the structure within the spirit and scopeof the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A water chaise, comprising a pair of spaced, parallel pontoons; across-member connected to and extending between said pontoons adjacentone end thereof; and a platform connected to and extending between saidpontoons at the other end thereof, said platform consisting of a pair ofdepending legs and a seat extending between the lower ends of the legs,said seat being disposed at a considerable distance below said pontoons,said pontoons, cross-member and platform being hollow and buoyant.

2. A water chaise, comprising a pair of spaced, parallel pontoons; across-member connected to and extending between said pontoons adjacentone end thereof; and a platform connected to and extending between saidpontoons at the other end thereof, said platform consisting of a pair ofdepending legs and a seat extending between the lower ends of the legs,said seat being disposed at a considerable distance below said pontoons,said pontoons,

cross-member and platform being air-tight, sheet metal tubes.

3. A water chaise, comprising a pair of spaced, parallel pontoons; across-member connected to and extending between said pontoons adjacentone end thereof; and a platform connected to and extending between saidpontoons at the other end thereof, said platform consisting of a pair ofdepending legs and a seat extending between the lower ends of the legs,said seat being disposed at a considerable distance below said pontoons,said pontoons, cross-member and platform being air-tight, sheet metaltubes, said pontoons having closed ends and said seat having a flatupper surface.

4. A water chaise, comprising a pair of spaced, parallel pontoons; across-member connected to and extending between said pontoons adjacentone end thereof; and a platform connected to and extending between saidpontoons at the other end thereof, said platform consisting of a pair ofdepending legs and a seat extending between the lower ends of the legs,said seat being disposed at a considerable distance below said pontoons,said pon toons, cross-member and platform being air-tight, sheet metaltubes, said pontoons having closed ends and said seat having a flatupper surface, said pontoons having longitudinally-spaced partitionsproviding a plurality of air-tight compartments.

5. A water chaise, comprising a pair of spaced, parallel pontoons; across-member connected to and extending between said pontoons adjacentone end thereof; and a platform connected to and extending between saidpontoons at the other end thereof, said platform consisting of a pair ofdepending legs and a seat extending between the lower ends of the legs,said seat being located below the pontoons a distance equal toapproximately three times the radius of the pontoons.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,465,790 Ranlett Aug. 21, 1923 1,555,589 Farina Sept. 29, 19251,562,276 Assenzio Nov. 17, 1925 2,141,799 Pyle Dec. 27, 1938

